11:26pm UK, Wednesday July 10, 2002

Small businesses and households may have to pay up to £14 a week to get their post before 9am.

The charges are being piloted in 14 areas from next Monday said postal group Consignia.

Business leaders have reacted furiously to the shock announcement.

sppostman consignia post office royal mail letters

Red letter day

It has already been announced that the second post is being abolished in favour of one delivery a day.

The changes being piloted mean businesses receiving more than 20 letters a day will get their post delivered between 7am and 9am.

Shake-up

Domestic households will get it between 9am and midday.

It is thought the weekly charge alone will save the company £350m.

The changes are part of a three-year shake-up designed to save Consignia £1bn. A total of 17,000 jobs are to go and Consignia's name will change to Royal Mail Group at the end of the year.

The British Chambers of Commerce reacted with anger to the announcement, claiming it will threaten UK competitiveness to charge small firms £750 a year to receive post before 9am.

Additional cost

Head of policy Sally Low said: "Business recognises that Royal Mail is experiencing problems. However, it cannot shift these problems onto small businesses.

"A cheque arriving in the mail before 9am or after noon can mark the difference between a firm surviving or folding."

And shadow trade and industry secretary John Whittingdale said: "Many small firms rely on the Royal Mail for their cash flow and their orders and cannot afford to wait until lunchtime for a delivery.

"This extra charge that they will now face represents a significant additional cost and flies in the face of the assurances that have been given that those who need to receive mail in the morning will be able to do so."

Pilot areas include: Crawley, West Sussex; Bow, east London; Edinburgh Dell; Sheringham, Norfolk; east Manchester; Llanelli; Newbury, Berks; Newhaven, East Sussex; Loughborough, Leicestershire, Halifax, West Yorkshire; Plymouth, Devon; Ballymena, Northern Ireland; Thirsk, North Yorkshire and St Helens Merseyside.